see if this works
http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg76/anomkneeus/

Nice pictures. Any info for us loggers, like how long a long-line, how heavy was the load and were they near their limit at that temperature? I see they took the main and tail blades off, but I'm sure that was just for aerodynamic issues not due to the weight. Where did all the fuel they drained out of it go? They flew it to Anduki airport, how far was that? What does the 'crane do in Malaysia the rest of the time? I thought only Schreiner's in Africa wore those orange clown suits.

Malabo

Malabo:
200', plus short line 30', plus specialist strop. All told ±260' inc S92

15,200lbs-15,800lbs.

20,000lbs hook max, morning lift so 28° I would be guessing but quite near max mass for ambient conditions.

Returned to Anduki as the second load (10x44gal drums visible in the posted photos), all disposed of in accordance with ISO14001.

45nm track (41 as the crow flies).

Logging primarily.

That is the ground-crew (maintenance and hook-up team).

A very professional, very precise piece of aerial ballet.

:ok: Nice picture .... am sure more to come.

Nice job there Chuck, with one of our old Cranes even! :) Interesting to know people on both ends of that job from very different aspects of my life!

Cranes salvaging helicopters in South-East Asia - who would ever thought that would happen in 2008. Very appropriate though. :ok:

Nice Job.

Why not replace the MGB?
 

So now the latest incident has been put partially to bed what is the fallout in Brunei, Malaysia and beyond?

Is it true that the S92 needs to be leveled (preferably in the hangar) to replace the Main G/Box? Also that an overhead gantry is desirable due to the minute movements to set the gearbox in place in the mounts?

What would the consequences be if the aircraft lands with the same or a similar problem on a beach or golf course (where pilots love to land due to food, beverages and telephone access) in a country where a sky crane is not available?

What about on a production platform? 24 hours or similar to recover the aircraft or production is stopped. Now forgetting the costs involved in stopping production and the point where it saves money to heave the aircraft off the helideck. How do you level the aircraft and is it possible to use the angled crane gantry offshore? Aircraft jacks on a 13 tonne aircraft on a helideck? Crane operations may damage the helicopter or maim an engineer as offshore even in warm climates it is a lot more different than in a nice well furbished hangar? Crane operators onshore tend to be heavy handed and inaccurate (nearly lost fingers before) are they any better offshore when precise movements are required?

Finally if they reach the point where the S92 has to be placed on a barge to return onshore before drastic action is taken by the production manager, how do they lift it? Do they have the strop available that was used here? I suppose the rotor head is written off as well?

Anyway more than 2 weeks to recover the aircraft here, it can't all be blamed on the "relevant authorities" can it?

The S-92 does not have to be leveled for a main gearbox change. If the aircraft is on a surface with more than 10-15 degrees of slope you may have trouble getting the gearbox in place.
The job can be done with a crane, just put a chain hoist on the hook and make the fine adjustments by hand. I've worked with some crane operators that are smoother than a hangar hoist and some that are a hazard.
Any job that will take a couple of days would preferably be done in a hangar. Some customers mandate that jobs like this be done in a hangar.

Aircraft in a hangar, gearbox out. New Gearbox on its way, Endex.

Any further questions on the specifics of this case less than helpful. Let's see what SAC have to say on the matter: and be assured that their findings will be public. All I can say is, thanks for your help Doc:ok:

Well said 212man and S92mech.:ok:

Nothing like facts VS rumour and hearsay!:E

My dear chap...
 

212 - A pleasure, In fact I was so confident that I was in the best of hands - I was reading the Borneo Bulletin for the last 5 minutes. Next time I promise not to bring out the pack of licquorice pastils so early!

Words to the wise:
1. Always carry a full bottle of water no matter where you think you're intending to land.
2. Always carry a full pack of smokes (not just three).
3. Never throw out the previous crew's food packs, no matter how unappetising they seem at the time.
4. Ensure your camera has a full charge and sufficient memory remaining (bringing it along always helps).
5. Make an Army Aircorps pilot your best friend, he may be able to pull you out of the proverbial some day!
6. Make a skycrane pilot your best friend, he may be able to pull your aircraft out of the proverbial some day!
7. Be nice to mechanics/engineers, some of them have real working Voodoo dolls.

Cheers,
Doc

Replacement Main, Input and Accessory modules are here and already assembled. The 4 Kevlar strops used for lifting the A/C were well protected, SAC Engineers did the math so No problems with the MRH at all.
As all three A/C are at similar hours the opportunity has been taken to carry out the first 1250hr insp early. Also gives us a chance to remove any critters that may have moved in. All the work will be carried out in the hanger because that is the professional way to perform Aircraft Maintenance. :D:ok:

So what actually happened anyway ? Some kind of mgb failure ? Oil cooler failure ? Anyone actually know ?

Why not replace the MGB?
 

S92 Mech "The job can be done with a crane, just put a chain hoist on the hook and make the fine adjustments by hand. I've worked with some crane operators that are smoother than a hangar hoist and some that are a hazard.
Any job that will take a couple of days would preferably be done in a hangar. Some customers mandate that jobs like this be done in a hangar."

Agreed it is easier in a hangar, most jobs are, are they not? But a recovery is a recovery and each day the aircraft doesn't fly costs money. Maybe not in Shell Brunei's case but to other operators for sure. More than two weeks 'in the bush' and a few more on a 1250 inspection........

Vibetribe- "Replacement Main, Input and Accessory modules are here and already assembled. The 4 Kevlar strops used for lifting the A/C were well protected, SAC Engineers did the math so No problems with the MRH at all. All the work will be carried out in the hanger because that is the professional way to perform Aircraft Maintenance."

Well if SAC say ok then that's excellent, I think I would prefer to return it for o/haul as a twisting dead weight taking the buffeting from the ride over the jungle and an S64 above is a bit different from the skyhooks normal preferences i.e. trying to keep 4 blades from flying off and supporting the weight of a 13 tonne cabin.

Hmmn, we all like the maintenance to be done in a hangar and I am sure Shell like all the whistle and bells that they provide to be used. But is there not a point where cost surpasses the niceties of hangar maintenance? Of course that takes us back to platform recoveries and my previous questions?

Albatross "Well said 212man and S92mech."

"Nothing like facts VS rumour and hearsay!"

You may be correct there Albert it could be a case of, 'Nothing like facts' in this case! It is a rumour board after all.:E

"NorthSeaTiger So what actually happened anyway ? Some kind of mgb failure ? Oil cooler failure ? Anyone actually know?"

Money is on a double input bearing failure on the MGB by what has been said before. Could be the third such incident since launch 2004. The other worrier if you look at 212 mans earlier graphic on the warning panel is the loss of generator when MGB heats or loses oil. Could all generation be lost due to the need for the generators to be oil cooled? So you could be coming down somewhere at night on standby power only? Would that be a correct assumption?

212 man - "Any further questions on the specifics of this case less than helpful. Let's see what SAC have to say on the matter: and be assured that their findings will be public. All I can say is, thanks for your help Doc"

Well we are waiting, waiting for something to be done to cut the failure rate. Any further questions on this unusual episode and consequent recovery can surely only be helpful for all operators present or future?

Fat... I'll certainly have some of that action, I hope you're really rich!

I'm afraid that you are assuming rather a lot here. The genny may or may not be a red herring (though granted there is an association), one still has the other AC generator (which can power everything), and the APU genny which can also power (almost) everything and of course the last ditch (pathetic admittedly) battery.

In some regards the problem here is an aircraft with too much redundancy (sometimes), and too many cautions associated with too many parameters. It is inevitable that one will see many of these cautions during the course of normal flight schedules.

Keep up the banter, rumour and speculation though, It's entertaining if not productive.

Cheers,
Doc

Fat and Furious - I'll certainly have some of that action also, I, too, hope you're really rich.

Smart money is on a planetary failure.

The Sultan

Smart as in not paying attention to the indications shown?

Whatever the cause, it was concentrated in the number 1 input module area, which was cooked. I think we should know soon, now it's out and being stripped.

Hello 212man,

I was basing it on a documented event with an Army UH-60 where the planetary generated so much debris it clogged the filters and caused a loss of oil pressure. As the S-92 is just a UH-60 with the rubber bands wound a lot tighter a similar issue might have initiated the sequence of events.

The Sultan

What The Sultan does not know about helicopters built an industry. Everything he has said about the 92 design below is both wrong and off the track.

212man, keep up the good work. The results will be in soon, and the system that the new S92 PM has of weekly video briefings for customers will have the real story, and the required fix, out on the street in no time.

S92 - Rotor start up
 

Please feel free to redirect me to another thread if this has been already answered... :)

Is there any limitation to the windspeed that you can start the rotor up on an S92?

If there is a limit is this set by the manufacturer or the company?

Thanks muchly for helping an offshore ATCO!



To Infinity and Beyond....Oldmeldrum